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Why Do We Quit Getting Healthy?

June 25, 2010   18 Comments

When we started this challenge, I knew I would be moving in the middle of it. Moving, divorce, losing a job, death - these are all on the Top 10 lists of stressful events in one's life.

Challenge: Week 7

Actually, the move went really well! I had lots of help (thanks, Laura and Micheal!) and I am happy about the new house. You see, I am now a homeowner (my family and the bank, of course). I never have to deal with a landlord again! YEA!

This happiness didn't mitigate the fact that moving is a tough one for the waistline. You lose your kitchen for a few days and take-out is notoriously fatty.

Pizza, donuts, bagels, sandwiches, and just the craziness of packing. Everything gets pushed aside for the goal of getting your crap out the door of your old abode.

I did do ONE thing for myself. During a trip to Target to buy much needed plastic containers, I bought Jillian Micheal's Yoga Meltdown (see below). I did the workout at the beginning of the day. She almost killed me, and I don't know how I found time - but I enjoyed it.

I was SO happy last week after a 2 pound weight loss, and this week I gained it back. Now, of course, I want to quit. This is why diets get derailed. We cruise along - doing the work - and then SOMETHING happens.

That SOMETHING is enough for us to give up our goal.

I find the show The Biggest Loser really interesting. (If you haven't seen it, the show features obese people that enter a contest to get healthy.) The show features a retreat from ordinary life called the "ranch". Who has time for that? I wonder about the contestant's jobs and other responsibilities.

Most of us don't have the luxury of uninterrupted time to make life changes. We need to do it with all of the other stresses that got us into an unhealthy place.

The real heroes aren't the ones at the "ranch", but the rest of us who change despite our circumstances. Though, I will say that to lose 1/2 your body weight is an amazing accomplishment.

So (to quote a reader), life happens.

How did I do?


Seven Weeks

175 pounds - (-2 pounds)
38.5 inch waist - (- 3.5 inches)


I gained 2 pounds and 1/2 an inch on my waist this week.

How do you keep your good habits despite lots of change?


Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown [DVD]

Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown [DVD]

$14.98   $7.58 Buy on Amazon.com

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18 Comments:

Stay on track and don't give up. You are worth it. Love yourself more than anyone else. - This is what I tell myself every morning. Life happens and it easy to slip back into bad habits. Just pick up where you fall and start again. I started my journey in August of last year to date I am down 74lbs and 4 pant sizes. Be an inspiratino to yourself and others. YOU can make a difference!

Dear Della,

You made my day! Thanks so much for the encouragement. Lisa

Lisa, you have to look at it as a life style change, there is no ending, it's the new way you eat, not a different way you eat. I have had an extra 13 lbs for about 8 years now. I decided on March 15th to finally loose them. I have lost 6 of them and it's been over three months. BUT they are probably gone for good, I am still going and I eat the way my diet started as my real life eating now. The things I cut out, I cut out for good, not just for a while. Sure I have pizza occasionally but only once in a while. Now, saying no thanks to a piece of cake at all the kids birthday parties, is normal to me, I don't even think about the cake or want it.

So try to think of it this way, these are not foods you are starving yourself of, they are foods you are riding yourself of, cause you don't really like how they affect your health and body, right? Right!

Good luck, and remember if you fall off the wagon, just get back on!!

your sfFriend,

Patty

I've been feeling that way the last two days and I want to quit but we will NOT quit. It would be so easy to quit to we're NOT going to do it :)

It's hard when we get off track though, but when it happens (like now) I try to go find inspiration from someone else who might have gone through the same thing and can help me see that failing isn't going to be the end of the world. That I can let go of it and move on and get back to all those good habits we've been working so hard on.

Patty is correct. It is a lifestyle change. What most people don't get or give a chance is this: The new foods and lifestyle taste just as good...actually better than the old lifestyle choices.

Using just one example: French fries. I used to love them. Now, after a year of living that healthy lifestyle, French fries have no appeal to me. It's been replaced by so many other fantastic foods. So, why bother with junk food when there are great alternatives?

You've also turned me on to some incredible snacks: Apple Pie (amazing) and the Banana/Peanut Butter quesadilla (delicious). Another great one is freezing banana slices and putting peanut butter on them...guess what? No need for ice cream anymore!

Good luck with your lifestyle change.

Ken Leebow

http://www.FeedYourHeadDiet.com

I've lost 25 lbs on WW. This is my second time on it. The hardest part is maintaining it, in my opinion. It was easier to cut food out to lose but to have to do it forever?! Argh! It really bums me out sometimes that I can not eat as much as I used to. And then I see the new muscles on my arms or my flatter stomach and I'm happy that I'm doing this for myself. At least I still get to eat and all of it I am enjoying! So it can't be all bad. Keep on keeping on! :)

Don't worry. That could just be stress weight/water weight or a fluctuation in your diet. You are still on track to lose the weight. After that junky food gets out of your system (hehe) you'll be back on track. :)

I am down another 3 lbs this week. So very excited but too afraid to let myself get overjoyed as I am afraid it might not last. I am going one day, one week at a time...I am not really even sure of a long term goal yet.

It is nice to read your blogs and the comments and know I am not alone...

So glad you liked the Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown - I bought it along with the Shred workout, but have yet to open them! Will try to do soon...! I did buy & use the popsicle molds though! The kids love them with Crystal Light, and I tried blending up some cut up watermelon & freezing it too - v. good! Thanks for the inspiration. I agree with Anne that maintaining is a daily battle - but thanks for the support!

Perfect timing, Lisa!

I'm back up to my original after being down three.

My excuse this time?

LOTS! dd Mono, SIL heartattack, a friend's crisis , a huge grad/going away b-day party, my son leaving for a year of volunteer work in Africa (etc etc...hey, life happens...lol)

But like you pointed out, what do all those things have to do with getting healthy?

Why do I feel like I "deserve" to be uhealthy because I am doing so well dealing with stress and crisis?

I "deserve" to be healthy.

I need to keep your words in my head the next couple of days.

i am will Peg as well, this is a life style change and at 50 something i just got that. i am heading into my senior years and realize you either take care of the body, or that is it!

i too have lost any the desire for many foods that i had been addicted to, such as cookies and pastry. i look at them and almost feel sick,that i allowed myself that junk for so many years...but forgiveness, water and healthy choices are my mantra now.

You can do it!! I KNOW how hard it can be in the midst of real life stress. Look at it this way, at least you only gained those two pounds back that you can lose again in another week. Maybe if you weren't trying so hard to be healthy in general, you would have gained 5 or 10 pounds! I say that only 2 pounds in the face of a move is actually a win. Way to go!!

I can't stress enough the book "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Furhman. It seriously saved me from constant dieting without ever being hungry. I'm up to 35 pounds lost since Oct-Nov, and that includes eating whatever I wanted during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter and gaining a little back. Check it out - they probably have it at your library. I absolutely guarantee that if you follow his instructions, you'll lose weight without even trying. It's really a lifechanger!

Lisa,

I here ya! I have been walking at LEAST four times a week at a 3% grade and at a speed of 3, for 3 miles. I have been using my weight machine many for arms, every other day I walk. I am a vegetarian and eat pretty well. I have been doing this for 8 months. The exercise, not the veggie, that has been since I was 13, I am 51 now. I have only lost 5lb's! I got discouraged and decided to go to the Dr. I found out my Thyroid was sluggish or Hypothyroidism. After two months of being on meds for it, I see I am losing a little better. But still not what I want. I started taking Calcium & Vitamin D because of some hip pain and Arthritis issues. I think it has helped me some too with the weight loss! I have been doing this so long that it is a normal daily routine for me. I feel bad if I do not walk. I give myself the weekends off unless I missed a day during the week for some reason. I just keep telling myself to keep plugging at it and it will pay off someday. I didnt gain it over night, and I am sure it wont go over night either! Keep with it!

Hey Snack Girl - keep up the good fight! As you may recall from my recent comments, I have been living the challenge you describe lately. But one thing I notice about myself and am giving myself credit for - for about the past year, although I have stumbled and "quit" a few times, I have never QUIT - I keep getting back up and trying something new. It may be half-hearted at times...but in the past, if I QUIT then I had quit for the long haul - I mean years before picking up the diet & exercise again. So, this time I'm giving myself credit for at least learning the "stick-to-it-ive-ness" part of this life-long experience. (It still pisses me off that this is for life, but apparently I'm finally getting in the groove of it.) Here's another bit of encouragement: I remember reading in one of those remotely-scientific "how people lost weight and kept it off" books, that people who are successful usually tried several or many times before they actually "won" and it "stuck" - the lesson being that each time we try and stumble, it could be the very next time we get back up and achieve success. So hang in there, Snack Girl and followers! I know I'm trying to (I walked 3x this week and got back to intuitive-rather-than-disordered eating)!

Lisa, I know how annoying losing and gaining back can be. I do it ALL the time! :D In fact, I've come to the conclusion that there are really only about two weeks a month when a woman can truly lose weight, what with hormones, water retention, etc. And those two lbs are probably water retention, because you may have been eating saltier foods while moving and just not have had the time to drink enough water. So don't get discouraged and just keep on pushing through.

I recently wrote a note on our Facebook page about the importance of having a Recovery Plan, especially at this time of year, with Bar-B-Qs and graduation parties and vacations. We know we're going to have some periods of time when we aren't going to be able to eat our best. If we go into those times knowing what we will do on the other side, I think it helps. So, if you know you're going to have a weekend filled with parties (or moving!) try to make the best choices you can, and then PLAN on getting back into the routine on Monday. In fact, I recommend even making a meal plan for that following week, so that you know exactly what you're going to eat, and there's no guesswork as you get back into things. Don't try to go overboard and "over-diet" or workout above and beyond what you normally do to "catch up." Just get back into the routine. If you'd like to read my whole note, you can find it here: http://ht.ly/23oN5

HTH!

Jan

You know how you stay on track? Do what you're doing right here - reach out to your support system! We're all here for each other. I know you'll get back on track - you've even bought yourself a new video! (Speaking of, I'm strongly considering buying one of those. I've never really watched Biggest Loser but since you swear Jillian wears you out, maybe I should give her a try - you know, change things up!) Keep it up girl.

Keep with it! Its not always about the number on the scale that matters. Its how you feel. And if you feel you did a good job even with the stress and inconvenience of a move than thats great!

You are inspiring a lot of people to try to be more healthy!

http://strength-thru-love.blogspot.com/


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